07) A SHAMEFUL ANNIVERSARY

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

            This issue appears just before the tenth anniversary of one of the most shameful episodes in Canadian history: the role of our government in the military coup d'etat which overthrew Haiti's democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29, 2004.

 

            For a decade, Canadians have been told little about this story. As Haiti solidarity movements point out, there is compelling evidence of Canada's involvement. A year in advance, the Liberal government hosted the Ottawa Initiative on Haiti at the Meech Lake resort near Gatineau, Québec. Canada took an active part in the forced exile to Africa of President Aristide. Soldiers in Joint Task Force 2 were assigned to join local mercenaries and U.S. troops illegally deployed to Port‑au‑Prince to conduct the coup.

 

            Even the Parliamentary opposition of the time raised this matter. On March 10, 2004, Conservative foreign affairs critic asked in the Commons about what criteria were used to take part in a regime change in Haiti.

 

            The coup was followed by several documented massacres and arbitrary arrests of pro‑democracy activists. Haiti's elected government structure was dismantled, and U.S.‑appointed regimes, backed financially, militarily and diplomatically by Canada, are accused of serious human rights abuses. A country with no known cases of cholera for the past century, Haiti now has one of the worst cholera epidemics in the world, thanks to the contamination of water sources by UN occupation troops.

 

            The story is a sickening example of Canada's dirty role in the 21st century imperialist subjugation of developing countries. Readers are encouraged to sign the online apology for Canada's role in this ongoing tragedy.

 

            Look for the petition at www.apologytohaiti.ca.

 

(The above article is from the February 15-28, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)